Kenny Omega was very proud of the match he had with Jon Moxley before things went awry at the conclusion.
All Elite Wrestling‘s Kenny Omega was a recent guest on The Sessions with Renee Paquette to discuss a wide variety of subjects. When asked about things happening in his career not going according to plan, Omega reflected on the exploding barbed wire death match against Jon Moxley at AEW Revolution 2021.
“The big one that always comes to mind at the forefront of my brain is, of course, the barbed wire death match, the exploding barbed wire death match,” Kenny Omega said. “I was so proud of the match. I was so worried about the match because I’m not really a hardcore guy.
“I’m the guy that’s scared of needles. I’m the guy that’s scared of getting caught — when I’m in the heat of the moment. Yeah, things happen, so I just deal with it. When I’m getting thrown on the barbed wire and things like that in the heat of the moment, sure, I can handle it.
“But going into a match knowing that this might happen, and this might happen, and this might happen. And I’m thinking worst-case scenarios like wow, I can catch on fire, or I can sear my face off, or whatever. I could get completely shredded by barbed wire if I get completely tangled in it, like I was scared of stuff like that.
“But the one thing that I never thought would happen and I should have considered it was what if all this stuff that they have prepared. That they have done rehearsals for that I know worked in rehearsals. What if, for some reason, on the day of that doesn’t work? It never popped into my mind.
“You just think that the stuff that you can’t control is going to be there for you. You know what I mean? I’m trying to worry about, like what can I do to control the unknown? The thing I can’t control any sort of technical aspect of the match. I can’t do that. So I’m just trusting that all these people that have the know-how and that have been tasked to do this can pull it off.”
When asked what was going through his mind at the moment when it happened, Omega explained the real reason why things didn’t go according to plan.
“I was giving the entire situation the benefit of the doubt because it was a super windy day,” Kenny Omega recalled. “It was a very windy day, and the way that the wind traveled through that kind of half-open-air arena. I thought maybe this place has been so wind tunneled up that something had caused this to not fire the way that it should.
“I was kind of hoping that maybe that’s what it was. But it was just like when I heard the real reason was the boss, who was not there for rehearsals, had then showed up to the actual real-life show. And he had said, ‘I’ve got a way to make this look even better.’ And that was his idea.
“I was like, wait, you decided on the spot when you didn’t know the idea? You didn’t see the rehearsal. And that’s the direction he decided to go in. And yes, there were misfires within his new idea that he decided, but I wish we just would have done what we practiced.”
Kenny Omega went on to reveal what was going through his head after the match and how bad he felt for Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston, who were in the ring when the mishap took place.
“I remember walking to the back, and I didn’t want to show any sort of emotion one way or another,” Kenny Omega admitted. “Whatever it was that I was going to do, I was just going to do it away from people, maybe in front of The Bucks, maybe in front of people that have seen me at my worst before. I was going to do it in front of them, and then I was going to come back out and be like, ‘Oh, wasn’t that great, everyone?’
“So I remember being on my way to the back. And I saw Jerry [Lynn], he kind of like sprinted up beside me, and he’s like, ‘Kenny, don’t do it, man. I know you’re pissed off, but don’t do it.’ I’m like, ‘Jerry, I don’t even know what I’m gonna do. I just feel like crying, man.’ Then he’s like, ‘No, it’s okay. It’s nothing you did wrong. I’m pissed off too. But hopefully, you don’t blame anyone involved in the match.’ And I’m like, ‘No, I don’t.’ That was kind of the most upsetting part is at that moment; I don’t know who to blame, I don’t know who’s at fault.
“I just felt so terrible for Jon [Moxley], for Eddie [Kingston], I even felt sorry for myself. I was like, ‘Boy, do we look like sorry saps.’ It was nice to just sort of, as best as I could, to scrub the finish. And think about, okay, how did our days look, aside from that one technical slump? I was like, you know what, I really liked it. I really did.
“And it sucks that that last part is what’s going to stick in everyone’s mind. But I mean, it just reinforces that everything that we do as performers as artists, like don’t ever say, ‘Hey, Kenny, you had this incredible match. Kenny, you had the greatest match of all time.’ Let’s say you really think that. I was just a part of it.
“I had an opponent. I had a great crowd. I had a great ring. I had probably a good entrance. My opponent had a good entrance; the referee was probably there selling the counts. It’s such a team effort. And if one of those things goes sideways, then kind of the whole experience suffers as a result of it.”
READ MORE: Kenny Omega Understands The Confusion, But He Might Never Get To Talk About All Out Brawl
What do you make of Kenny Omega’s comments? Did you enjoy the exploding barbed wire death match at AEW Revolution 2021? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
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